Indonesia: Woman jailed for suicide bombing plot

Hanoi (VNA) – A woman who was accused of having links with a bombing plot
of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) at the Indonesian presidential palace
in Jakarta was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, her lawyer said
on August 28.

The
defendant, Dian Yulia Novi, 28, has been proven guilty of violating the
anti-terrorism law. The verdict was handed down by the East Jakarta District
Court, stating her actions contradicted with the Indonesian Government’s
efforts to eradicate terrorism.

Novi
was arrested in a rented house with a 3kg bomb in December 2016, just one day
before the planned bombing.

This
was the first time a woman has been accused of involving in a suicide bombing attempt
in Indonesia. Judges delivered the verdict earlier than expected, as Novi is
nine months pregnant and she would not appeal.

Novi
and her husband were among five people arrested for suspected links with last
year’s attack plot.

Another
woman named Tutin Sugiarti, alleged as the person who encouraged Novi to become
a suicide bomber, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Police
believed that the group had close connection with Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian
insurgent group which fights along IS in Syria.

Indonesian
authorities are worried about increasing activities of insurgents in the
country, especially the return of 500 Indonesians who support IS in Syria.-VNA